Champions of the Flyway!

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Up close with Filey's Barn Owls

Barely a day's birding has gone by over recent weeks here Filey that hasn't been illuminated by at least one of these beautiful beasts hunting close by. After a very successful breeding season last year, we have several pairs in the area and a comparitively thriving local population.

On the face of it, an increase in encounters may imply the more the better and all is well, but it seems likely that such a sudden surge in day-hunting may actually suggest quite the opposite. Voles - a principle food source - experience boom-and-bust population cycles, and after the former, the latter is now due, and our Barn Owls may well be trying to compensate for this. How they fare is open to question, but for now, it's a real privilege to have them so close at hand.

About Me

Lucky enough to spend plenty of my time enjoying birds and wildlife as my bread and butter and drug of choice, I've an east coast Bird Observatory on my doorstep here in Filey and a second just down the road at Flamborough. I'm a field ornithologist, nature writer, speaker and guide, a role juggler here at the Obs and a musician / songwriter with my band Morning Bride.